york times" -- ""new york times"" chief correspondent. it seems as though the white house's in boxes overflowing with middle east crises. two weeks ago it was cause of. now you have egypt and syria. where can the administration exert influence? >> in syria there is not a huge amount of influence right now. there is probably a tipping point at this moment and they are doing whatever they can out. you heard hillary clinton talk about that. but they have some concerns not only about whether he leaves but what happens to the country after he leaves. the question least assistant and washington usually, but it is being asked in this case -- and then what? if the chemical stores fell into the wrong hands, you could have a problem that could spread out. at this point the question is does seery app implode or explode? >> the red line on syria's use of chemical weapons seems to be shifting. why? >> in august, president obama said his calculus would change if the chemical weapons were moved or used. this week we have heard many warnings against usin